


Oh!Del Rio II: The Courtship of Imaginos

by Imaginos_Buzzardo_Desdinova



Category: Imaginos - Blue Oyster Cult (Album)
Genre: 1800s courtship, Del Rio Texas, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:34:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22641928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imaginos_Buzzardo_Desdinova/pseuds/Imaginos_Buzzardo_Desdinova
Summary: Having decided that he is in love with Alice, Imaginos finds a new home and job as he sets his sights on wooing her.
Relationships: Imaginos/Alice
Kudos: 3





	1. Arrival at the Three Horses

Oh! Del Rio II: The Courtship of Imaginos

CHAPTER 01: ARRIVAL AT THE THREE HORSES

  
  


It was noon at the Three Horses pub when Imaginos stepped through the door. The bartender was cleaning the countertops and getting ready for the lunch crowd. A few people were already sitting at the tables. One group was playing a quiet round of cards.

“Good afternoon,” the bartender said, to his new guest. “What can I get for you? We’ve got some fine whiskey.”

“Thanks,” Imaginos said, “But what I could really use is a room and some hint as to where to find a local job. The prospect I came here on didn’t work out as planned. But I love this town and I am a hard worker.”

“I suspect that it’s more than the town you love,” the bartender told him. “My name’s Adam, by the way. Adam Sanderson. I’ve got a room you can rent for a bit, and my brother is looking for someone to help out with a bit of work building a shop not far from here. If you’re willing to put in some hard work, I think we’ll have things all set.”

“Thank you,” Imaginos said. “I ask only for two days off. One for church and one for courtship.”

“Would you accept one and a half?” Adam asked.

“That could be worked out. Could I take the half day on Sundays and come after church, then?”

“I think my brother would consent to that,” Adam agreed. “Most of his workers attend services on Sundays.”

“Most of them?” Imaginos could not comprehend anyone not going.

“Two of them are Seventh Days,” Adam explained. “They attend services on Saturday evenings. It actually works out well for all concerned, since they arrive early on Sundays and get things set up and started.”

“It sounds like a very good setup,” Imaginos agreed. “Then I think we’re all set. I’ll be happy to work for your brother.”

“Excellent,” Adam decided. “Here’s the key to the apartment upstairs. Why don’t you go ahead upstairs and freshen up. Do you have a change of clothing?”

“I don’t actually,” Imaginos admitted. He hoped no real hard questions would come of this. He didn’t want any other people to find out about Buzzardo. Too many knew already. 

“Well, that’s okay,” Adam told him. “We can pick up a few items while we’re out and I’ll add the cost to your weekly rent. Room four, by the way.”

“Thank you,” Imaginos said. “That is very much appreciated.”

He ascended the stairs and checked the doors until he found the one he was looking for. He turned the key in the lock and pushed it inward.

The room was small, but not without comfort. There were two windows one to the side of the bed, the other behind it. A small dresser stood under the side window with a wood-framed mirror decorating it and giving the room a larger feel.

Imaginos noticed that the bed had not yet been made. He made the bed, carefully tucking in the bottom sheet and making sure nothing would pull loose during the night. Then he put the key in his breast pocket and headed downstairs to meet up with Adam.

  
  
  


“Any idea when the rest of the lumber is supposed to be here?” Albert Sanderson asked. He was a burly man who looked every bit the carpenter he was. 

“We should be hearing from Jason by ten,” one of the workmen told him. “He was going to the lumberyard at nine. I don’t see how he’s going to get all that lumber on the wagon by himself, though.”

“He went alone?” Albert asked.

“Well,” the workman shrugged. “You know him. He thinks he’s Paul Bunyon or something.”

“Hey! Al!” 

Albert turned and waved to his brother who was approaching with a man he did not recognize.

“Hello, there,” Albert said to the stranger.

“Albert,” Adam indicated the man beside him, “this is Imaginos. He’s new in town and looking to find work.”

“Are you strong?” Albert asked. “This job requires a good deal of strength. I won’t hire anyone with dainty fingers.”

“Dainty fingers?” Imaginos asked, somewhat amused.

“People who do desk jobs, basically,” Albert explained. “I want someone who isn’t afraid to get a thumb smacked every so often. By accident of course. But it does and will happen. So if you’re queasy, you’d best find work elsewhere.”

“I think I’ll manage,” Imaginos told him. 

“Fine,” Albert looked over at the other workmen. “Come, I’ll introduce you to your co-workers.”

Imaginos followed Albert to the main part of the job site where the frame of the house was being built upon.

“Guys,” he said, holding up a hand to indicate they should pause what they were doing. “We have a new person starting with us today. Imaginos?”

Imaginos nodded.

“Imaginos,” he introduced, “this is Maxwell,”

“Max,” Maxwell said, he didn’t shake hands as he was holding a board in place.

“Hello, Max,” Imaginos replied. 

“Richard,” Albert continued.

“Nice to meet you,” Richard offered his hand, which Imaginos shook.

“You also,” Imaginos said.

“And Dale,” Albert concluded.

“Dale. Pleased to meet you,” Imaginos said, offering his hand which Dale accepted with a firm grip. 

“We have one more workman by the name of Jason,” Albert told him, “but he’s off collecting lumber for us, so you’ll have to meet him later.”

*****

Imaginos could not wait another day. So long he had labored in a job he did not even enjoy. Days had turned into weeks. And they were threatening to turn into months. He did not want to spend another day without Alice.

Flying as Buzzardo, he sped like lightning to her aunt Eve’s house where she was staying and flew to a trellis beside Alice’s bedroom window. He pecked on the windowsill until Alice went to her window.

“Buzzardo,” she whispered. “Aunt Eve would kill you if she knew you were poking at my window.”

Buzzardo landed and became Imaginos.

“Fly away with me,” he said. “Take to the skies with me and let us fly away from here.”

“I thought you were going to court me all nice and proper,” Alice scolded, her heart thumping so loud she could hear it.

“It was my intent to do so,” Imaginos told her. “But my heart cannot wait or last another day without you. I cannot work at a job that doesn’t suit me, for that matter. It only makes me bitter and I would not have you wed a bitter man.”

“So you would have me wed a poor man?” Alice asked.

“No man is poor who has won your love,” Imaginos said. “Come. Fly to the sea with me. We can live as we were meant to. On the wings of the future.”

“And where will our children grow? What if they do not share our wonderful gifts?”

“We shall protect them when they come as any parent would,” Imaginos told her. “Hurry, now.”

“It’s such a foolish idea,” Alice said, thoughtfully.

“Terrible,” Imaginos’ lips were smirking, but his eyes were filled with love. “So shall we do it?”

Alice smiled. “Let’s,” she said. “I’m curious to see how it will turn out.”

Changing into Whiteswan, she flew out her bedroom window, and meeting Buzzardo in midair, flew away with him as the moon shone through the clouds above.

Looking out her window, Eve smiled.

Imaginos and Whiteswan flew playfully until they reached the churchyard where they drifted downward in a slow spiral. So focused on each other were they, that they did not see the old preacher man who was looking up at the stars and enjoying their beauty. 

But he saw them. Saw the two birds who ought to have been at battle playing as they flew, spiraling in a near-embrace, turning into a lovely young woman and her handsome young man. He hesitated. Who had given them such gifts? The Devil? Or maybe God? Surely Satan would not have created beings who could love. 

“Good evening, friends,” he said, cautiously. “God’s stars are lovely tonight, don’t you think?”

“Quite spectacular,” Alice agreed.

Imaginos gaze appreciatively at them and gave a slow approving nod. “Sirius is especially bright tonight. As is the North Star. Those who have gone to sea should be able to find their way easily.”

“So, what brings you two so close to my church so late?”

Alice nodded to Imaginos.

“We wish to marry,” Imaginos told him. 

That was all the proof the preacher needed. No one of the Devil would ask for a ceremony which God had sanctified. He smiled.

“I assume you mean now,” he said. “Unfortunately, church law does not permit me to attend an elopement. But perhaps you don’t need to? As you are both part bird, you may choose to live under the laws the animals live under. God has blessed them and loves them, too, after all. I can offer special dispensation in view of your circumstances.”

“The vows…” Imaginos began.

“The vows need only be between the two of you.” the preacher told Imaginos and Alice. “Speak them to each other in a field, or on the water’s edge, or on a dirt road. And if they’re true in your hearts, they will count with Him.”

“Thank you,” Alice said as she and Imaginos departed from the churchyard.

*****

Two birds who should have been foes flew in a spiral, feathers touching, wings caressing, heads nuzzling. They mewed and honked in perfect harmony, and danced in midair until they landed on the shore of the waters of the San Pedro. 

It was hard, but also smooth. They sat on the edge, feet in the water, in their human shapes. Hands caressed the places that no bird has, voices whispering puffs of breath onto each other’s lips. Their eyes gazed into each other, storms meeting and joining as their bodies joined on the ledge that jutted out just under the water. The caresses of water mingled with the touches of flesh as they lie together, heating their desires as it cooled their bodies. Lips touched, fingers traced lines over the curves of their bodies, and the water lapped over them in an almost playful manner. 


	2. Chapter 2

###  CHAPTER 02: THE TROUBLE WITH ALICE

As time went by, Imaginos noticed that Alice had stopped her transformations. He, of course, continued as they needed food and turning into Buzzardo was the easiest way to hunt.

“Alice,” he asked one day as he entered the abandoned shack they had temporarily moved into carrying the rabbit he had caught for dinner. Alice was nowhere to be found. “Alice?” He stepped back out and went around back to see if she might be working on the garden she had planted a few weeks ago. They were just wildflowers, weeds to some, but she found them pretty. And he found her all the prettier for it.

But she was not there, either. Taking his avian shape, he soon found her at the edge of the creek, retching and looking pale.

“Are you okay?” he asked her once he was human again, and crouched by her side, holding her and keeping her hair out of harm’s way.

“Thank you,” Alice said, once she was able to stop. “I’m okay, now.”

“I’m getting worried,” Imaginos told her. “You haven’t taken your swan shape in nearly a month. You haven’t grown tired of it, have you?”

“No,” Alice said, sadly. “I wish I could change, but the ability seems to have left me. I’ve been so scared, Imaginos. I’ve been afraid that since I’m no longer like you, that you might get bored and leave me.”

“I would never leave you,” Imaginos said. “Maybe there’s a reason you can’t change anymore?”

“I don’t know,” Alice said. “But come, let’s have something to eat. What wonderful prey did you bring home today?”

Imaginos smiled. “It’s in the kitchen.”

Alice looked delighted at the fresh rabbit. But as she began to prepare it, she suddenly took ill again and rushed back out to the creek.

Imaginos followed. “I can make you something else if you’re not up for rabbit,” he offered when they were heading back home.

“No, I can eat it,” Alice said. “It’s just… I don’t know… the thought of preparing it made me ill. It’s crazy. I’ve made rabbit for supper more times than I can count. I love rabbit. But, I just got ill all of a sudden.”

“I’ll prepare dinner tonight, then,” Imaginos told her. “Why don’t you work in your garden? It always seems to cheer you up.”

Alice smiled and went to her garden while Imaginos went inside to prepare the evening meal.

Soon the delicious scent of rabbit stew was drifting through the kitchen window. Alice smiled at it for a little while. Then tears came, unbidden, to her eyes. 

Her mother. How she missed her. Why was she here in the middle of nowhere with this man she’d known so little? She should be home with the parents who loved her.

The parents who had kicked her out for an ability she apparently no longer had. Would they welcome her back now, she wondered. She doubted it. And even if they did, would she want them to. Would she really want to live with a mother and father whose love was so conditional? Indeed, did wondering that make her own love for them conditional?

The tears came and fell. One by one they ran down her cheeks until Imaginos came to her and drew her up from the edge of the garden.

  
“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I miss my family,” she said. “I know they threw me out like last month’s milk. But they are still my family.”

“They didn’t act like it,” Imaginos said. “But if it means that much to you, we can go and visit them once you’re feeling better. I don’t think we should travel too much while you’re ailing.”

“Thank you,” Alice told him. “I just wish I knew what was wrong with me.”

“We’ll go and see the doctor in the morning if you’re not feeling better by then,” Imaginos told her. “Now come, the stew will soon be done. We shall dine and ponder the greatest mystery of the world.”

“What mystery is that?” Alice asked.

“Why do we put carrots in rabbit stew?”

  
  
  


Alice lay on her side as Imaginos climbed into bed beside her. He stroked her hair as he always did and drew closer, wrapping an arm around her protectively and lovingly. He kissed her, softly, on her ear and the pulsepoint of her neck.

Alice pulled away and curled up a little, hinting that she did not want their normal night time cuddle.

“What’s wrong?” Imaginos looked at her with concern as he propped himself up on one elbow. “Have I offended you somehow?”

“I’m still sick,” Alice told him. “I don’t want you catching whatever I might have. Plus I’m too sore and achy to do anything fun tonight. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Imaginos stood up. “If it will make you feel better, then I will give the entire bed to you for the evening.”

“And where will you sleep?” Alice asked.

Imaginos changed into Buzzardo and perched in a tree just outside the bedroom window.

~I love her,~ he thought to himself. ~I wish I knew what was wrong.~

He gazed into the bedroom window as the moon came out from behind the clouds. ~My poor dear Alice. What ails you so?~

Morning came and Buzzardo woke on his perch to the sound of Alice retching in the creek once again.

He took flight and went to her side, taking human form and putting an arm around her as she stood.

“Do you feel up to going into town to see a doctor, or shall I fetch one and bring him back here?”

“I think,” said Alice, “that it might be better if I stay here. I’m really feeling poorly right now.”

“Then I’ll go and get the nearest doctor,” Imaginos told her. “I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

“I hope he can figure out what’s wrong with me,” Alice replied, worriedly.

Imaginos kissed her and took flight as Buzzardo, flying over the town until he spotted the doctor’s shingle. Then, finding a safely hidden place, he landed and became Imaginos.

He knocked on the door and was greeted by a man in his early forties. 

“Good afternoon,” the man said, pleasantly. “My name is Dr. Emmanuel Roseboom. Most of my patients call me Dr. Manny. And you are?”

“My name is Imaginos. No last name,” Imaginos told him. “I’m here about my wife Alice. She has been quite ill lately. She couldn’t even make the journey. I was hoping a doctor would come and have a look at her.”

“Well, I have a patient who is coming in a few minutes. But if you can tell me your address…”

“I can’t,” Imaginos explained. “We took up residence in an abandoned shack about a mile or two away.”

“Is it the one by the creek?” Dr. Manny asked.

Imaginos nodded.

“I know the place,” Dr. Manny assured him. “It’s not far from where my father and I used to hunt ducks back in the day.”

Imaginos’ eyes went wide. He debated walking out. But Alice needed him. Still, a bird hunter! Distasteful in Imaginos’ opinion. But wasn’t he also a bird hunter? Didn’t he hunt falcon from time to time? Sure! But that was different, wasn’t it? Weren’t he and the falcon the same size? No… now wasn’t the time to think of such things. He had to think of Alice and her needs.

“I’ll head back home, then, and tell Alice that you’re coming.” He told Dr. Manny. “Thank you. Just please don’t mention duck hunting. Alice has this thing about lake birds.”

“I understand,” Dr. Manny said. “Women are so sensitive about those things.”

“Yes,” Imaginos agreed as he stood in the doorway. “They are.”

Imaginos left the office and began his trip home.

*****

Alice was in bed when he got back. “Can I get you anything?” he asked her.

“Water,” she asked, sounding. “Thank you.”

Imaginos fetched a cup of water and brought it back to her. “There you go,” he said as he helped her drink it. “You just relax until Dr. Manny arrives.”

“You found a doctor,” Alice smiled. “That’s good. I’m sure he’ll figure out what’s wrong with me. Then we can find a cure.”

“Or it might pass on it’s own,” Imaginos told her. “But at least we’ll know what it is.”

Imaginos sat by Alice’s bedside. He wouldn’t hunt for meat until the doctor had been and gone. And he was also thinking of just making a vegetable soup for Alice if she kept being unable to hold anything down in the mornings.

Soon there was a knock on the door. He stood up and went to answer it.

“Welcome, doctor,” he said, as he led Dr. Manny inside. “I’m glad you could come. Alice is in the bedroom.” He entered the bedroom with Dr. Manny. “Dr. Manny, this is my wife Alice.”

Alice smiled, weakly, in greeting.

“So,” Dr. Manny said. “Why don’t you tell me how you’re feeling and what your symptoms are.”

“Well,” Alice said. “I can’t hold anything down. Especially first thing in the morning. And a lot of food smells that I used to love also make me nauseous. Sometimes I get a dizzy spell. And there’s a lot of aches and pains.”

“I see,” Dr. Manny smiled. He turned to Imaginos. “Would you wait in the other room please?”

“I’ll see you in a minute,” Imaginos promised, stepping through the door and closing it.

“What’s wrong with me?” Alice asked. “Why did you send my husband out?”

“Privacy,” Dr. Manny explained. “Tell me, how long has it been since you’ve had your monthlies?”

“It’s been a while,” Alice said. “In fact I don’t think it’s come since the month before we married.”

“Well, that explains a lot,” the doctor was smiling even more now. “I want you to take it easy from now on. You’re to get as much bed rest as possible. Let your husband do the housework and cooking. And drink plenty of fluids.”

“What’s wrong with me?” Alice asked. The treatment didn’t sound so horrible. She could handle it easily.

“I’d rather tell both of you at the same time,” the doctor said. He left the room and returned with Imaginos. “As I was telling Alice, this is something you’ll both want to hear together.”

“How is she?” Imaginos asked. “Will she be alright?”

“She’ll be fine,” the doctor told them. “Though you should start thinking of what to name your baby.”

The news of his impending fatherhood brought so much happiness to Imaginos that he could hardly contain himself. Tears streamed down his face as he kissed Alice and waited impatiently for Dr. Manny to be far enough away so he could do what he wanted most.

Once the doctor was well out of sight and earshot, Buzzardo rose up higher than he ever had before. He swooped! He soared! He sounded out with proud mews to any living thing in hearing range. Higher still, he flew. And down he swooped, tickling himself in the tall summer grass until he rose up again, crying out in avian joy. A new life was going to come into the world! One that he, as Imaginos, had helped to create! The discovery was one that surpassed that of any of the historical finds he’d ever read about or otherwise learned of in school. He felt the wind under his wings unlike he’d ever felt before. He had never been happier. Not even when he had first flown. 

Soon it began to rain. But even that could not diminish his joy. He landed and laughed as he hurried inside, the drops hitting his back like a hundred tiny angels taking a break from dancing on the head of a pin to give him a pat on the back in congratulations. He went into the bedroom, taking off his shirt, and wiping down his hair. Then he put on a fresh shirt and went to sit with Alice who had fallen asleep.

As the months passed, Alice remained grounded. She missed flying with her husband, but at the same time, she would not trade her pregnancy for the world. Even when it caused her pain and caused her to lash out at Imaginos. 

“... and don’t come back until you can catch something other than a bunny. I’m sick of rabbit! Baked rabbit! Barbecued rabbit! Rabbit stew! Rabbit stew with carrots! Without carrots! I’m surprised you haven’t made me a rabbit skin bag!”

“Actually,” Imaginos sheepishly held up the new bag.

“For pity’s sake!” Alice exclaimed. “I might have known.” But she smiled. “Where did you learn to sew?”

“Same place I learned to hunt,” Imaginos told her. “My third mother, Nora, had me help her mend things. It’s a good skill to learn. Especially if I had to mend or sew a sail.”

“Do you still yearn for the sea?” Alice asked gently.

“Yes,” Imaginos admitted. “But I know now that I’ll never be able to travel. At least not as much as I’d hoped in the past.”

“You might have to, you know,” Alice said. “After all, with another mouth to feed, it might be a good idea to find a crew to work on. I’m not due for another five months, and I’ll be fine in the meantime.”

“Are you sure?” Imaginos asked. 

“Yes,” Alice replied. “No sense in both of us being snippety and miserable.”

“I’m going to contact your aunt Eve,” Imaginos said. “I know we’re not supposed to tell anyone about this for another month, so I won’t say why. I’ll just tell her that I’ve found a job that will take me away from home for a while and that you could use the company.”

“Thank you,” Alice agreed.

*****

Eve poured two cups of tea and brought them over to the table.

“I thought you and Imaginos loved each other,” she said, worriedly.

“We do, Aunt Eve,” Alice told her, putting some sugar in her tea and stirring listlessly. “But things have changed. The little he’s been making isn’t enough any more.”

“It’s not enough for you or it’s not enough for him?” Eve asked. “Alice, you know your late uncle worked himself into his grave because he kept thinking he needed to make more and more money to keep me happy.”

“It’s not like that, Aunt Eve,” Alice protested. “I’m sorry I can’t tell you. But it’s not about greed or wanting to get away from each other. Our situation has changed, for the better don’t worry. And we need to adjust to what’s coming.”

Eve smiled, suddenly. Alice hadn’t meant to give so much away.

“What’s coming?” she asked with a bright smile. “Or who’s coming?”

“Aunt Eve!” Alice sounded scandalized.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” Eve promised. “I hope your man won’t be away too long. It would be a shame if he missed all the firsts. You only get one chance to see those first steps or hear that first word.”

“It would be,” Alice agreed. “I miss him already, Aunt Eve. I just hope he’ll be alright out there. Thanks for letting me stay at your place while Imaginos is away.”

Alice lie in the bed she’d slept in when she had visited her aunt as a child. It had been so much bigger in her childhood. Back then she practically disappeared in all the blankets and the soft mattress. Today it fit her just right, and she felt very comfortable. The first day with her Aunt Eve had been nice. Her aunt still didn’t know of her ability to transform. But with that currently curbed by her pregnancy, she was under no pressure to hide or reveal it.

She began penning a letter …

“Dearest Imaginos,

I can’t begin to tell you how much I miss you. 

Aunt Alice guessed about the baby pretty much right away. I should 

have known she would. She’s very smart. She’s also a very good

gardener. I’m helping her plant some flowers tomorrow. At least I want

  1. Knowing her, though, she’ll probably insist I stay off my feet. 



I should remind her that gardening is done from the kneeling position.

I hope this letter finds you well, and that your captain isn’t being too

demanding. Take care and keep safe.

Your loving Alice.”

She folded the letter and placed it in an envelope, sealing it with wax and placing it on her bedside table to be delivered the following day.


	3. Chapter 3

Four men, including Imaginos, turned the levers that drew the trawl into the boat. It was heavy, which was good. Heavy meant fish. The tuna boat brought in a large number every day. It was the job of Imaginos and his four shipmates at the levers to bring the fish in while six more men worked the sails and another four prepared the fish. Some for their own dinners, some for use as bait or chum, and some for sale to the markets at the various ports of call. 

The clouds were darkening and the man in the crow’s nest called out “Storm! Storm to the Southwest! Storm!”

The men at the trawl paused in their preparations to cast out again and went to help bring in the sails and prepare the ship for the coming onslaught.

As they lowered some of the sails, keeping up only those needed to keep the ship on course, Imaginos suddenly saw the image of a mirror surrounded by what appeared to be leaves made of jade. It almost seemed as if the mirror had been grown rather than made. In the middle of the mirror was the image of his own reflection, but it was him as Buzzardo rather than as Imaginos.

A wave broke over the ship as the men strapped themselves to the superstructure took Imaginos with it. Though he managed to transform, instinctively and unseen, and fly to the topmost part of the unfurled sails where he stood, shaking and bewildered.

“Imaginos!” One of his shipmates called out. “Man overboard!”

The other trawlers searched the sea where the wave would have deposited their friend. But there was no sign of the man.

“We’ve got to carry on,” the captain said. “We’ll send word to his widow when we reach the next port.”

Buzzardo stared down at the men. He wondered what was tugging so strongly at his heart. It never occurred to him to wonder why he, as a bird, was even thinking in this way. This widow they spoke of would be said. He had to find her. Whoever she was. He had no idea what distant shore she called home or how long it would be before he found her. But she would need comfort and he would offer it to her.

Alice was having tea in the garden with her aunt when the messenger arrived at Eve’s front door.

“Hang on, dear,” Eve told her. “I’ll see who it is.”

Eve went to the front door and saw that it was a messenger.

“Is there something I can do for you?” she asked, frowning at his solemn expression.

“Are you the wife of Imaginos?” he asked.

That did not bode well. “I’m her aunt,” she said. “Alice is indisposed at the moment. I will pass on the information. If it’s what I think it is, it will probably be better if it came from me.”

“I’m afraid Imaginos was lost at sea,” the messenger relayed. “There was a storm and he was washed overboard before he could be lashed to the boat. I’m sorry.”

Eve lowered her gaze. She had to tell Alice. Though it would not be easy. There was one small chance, but she didn’t want to hurt her niece by getting her hopes up only for them to be destroyed once more. If by some miracle he had transformed before it was too late, there was still the likelihood that Buzzardo had been drowned despite the change.

Heavy-hearted, Eve returned to the garden table.

“Alice …” she began sadly, putting a hand on her pregnant niece’s shoulder. “I have to tell you something about Imaginos …”

Alice looked up, her eyes dark and fearful. 

“He’s not … dead …” she asked, horror in her voice.

“I don’t know,” Eve admitted. “I think so. He was washed overboard.”

“Then he could be alive,” Alice decided. “They wouldn’t know about Buzzardo. So he could be alright.”

“Let’s not get our hopes up too high,” Eve warned. “It’s better to be surprised with good news than let down by bad.”

“You’re right, Aunt Eve,” Alice said sadly. “But I have his baby at least. If I have to be happy with that alone, I think I can be.”

Far away, on the shores of the Baffin Bay in Greenland, just past the Labrador Sea, Buzzardo perched, cold and shivering, on an outcropping of ice. He did not enjoy perching on ice, vaguely recalling a time of warmth that seemed so close but also so far away.

He heard voices approaching. Part of him instinctively said to hide. That they might be hunters. But another part, the one that noted that he was already freezing to death, decided to take a risk. He didn’t know what made him do it, but as they set their packs down and prepared to catch their food, he slipped quietly into one of the packs and squeezed himself into the corner while they took out their fishing gear. It was warm, or at least warmer than the ice-branch had been. His talons no longer hurt and he was beginning to feel comfortable.

Soon several fish were in the pack along with him. Figuring that they would not miss one fish, Buzzardo set to work slowly devouring the one closest to him.

When they arrived at their settlement, the fishermen pulled their catch from the pack, noticing that one of the fish seemed to have been reduced to a skeleton.

“What’s this?” the older of the two asked in surprise.

The other looked in the pack. “We seem to have a visitor,” he said, reaching for the hawk who pecked at him but seemed to be only warning him off. “Don’t be afraid, hungry one. We mean you no harm.”

“Like heck we don’t,” the other said. “He owes us a fish.”

“He’s a bird, Tarkik,” the first to speak smiled. “He only knows that he is hungry.”

“Say what you will, Toklo,” the younger acquiesced. He looked up at the hawk that now stood upon the edge of the pack which they’d hung up. “But I don’t trust him. There’s something about those eyes. They’re too smart for a bird’s.”

The hawk made no sound, simply cocked its head at the conversation and listened while it eyed the other fish.

“No,” Tarkik said. “These are ours.”

“He can’t live on just one,” Toklo pointed out. He turned to the hawk. “You can come fishing with us tomorrow. If you help us with our catch, you can have two for yourself.”

Tarkik stared in quiet amazement. He could’ve sworn that he saw the bird give a slight nod of agreement.

“What do we call him?” Toklo asked that night when he and Tarkik were in their beds, their new houseguest having made a home for himself on the edge of Toklo’s bed after using his talons to form a nest from the looser blankets. 

“You name him,” Tarkik grumbled. “I’m still mad at him for taking that fish.”

“Umiaktorvik,” Toklo decided. “Do you like that?” he asked the bird.

“Sure. Like he can understand you,” Tarkik muttered.

The hawk gave an unhappy sound as if to say “that’s not my name, but I’ll put up with it for now.” 

“I don’t think he likes it,” Toklo said. “Something less ostentatious, then? How about …?”

“How about Uki,” Tarkik asked. “The girl who survives.”

The hawk screeched angrily at him, smacking him with a wing before landing on the edge of the dresser.

“I think he’s a boy,” Toklo pointed out.

The hawk made what passed in hawkish for a smart remark.

“Fine,” Tarkik said, rubbing his head where the hawk had smacked him. “What about Yuka? Bright star?”

The hawk settled down at this point and gave a little sound of acceptance. Still not his true name, but he could not remember that, and it was a good name.

“Good night, Tarkik, Yuka,” Toklo told the bird as he made himself comfortable and closed his eyes.

“Good night, Toklo, Yuka,” Tarkik replied.

The hawk made a soft noise and snuggled into his nest of blankets.


	4. Chapter 4

Toklo shouldered the full pack a couple of years later, while Yuka made a dive for another fish, and gathered up the fishing gear. It was a good day for all. The hawk rose from the chilly water with another fish grasped firmly in his talons, while Tarkik pulled his empty hook from the depths and scowled at Yuka.

“Come on,” Toklo laughed, let’s get back.

It was slightly warmer, but only by a few degrees. As they headed back, they passed the home of a young couple. A cry could be heard coming from inside.

Yuka flew down from the pack, and hopped inside.

“Yuka!” Toklo called out with a summoning gesture. “Yuka!”

A baby, the first to be born in two years since the little community had decided it had been too cold for babies to survive until then, lay swaddled in blankets on a little bed on the floor.

Yuka perched next to the baby’s bed, looking down with curiosity. There was something about the child. Something that tugged at the bird’s heart. 

The baby’s mother knew Yuka, they all did. They knew he was a gentle bird, albeit a fierce hunter, so his presence did not bother her.

The shock of memory was so strong when Yuka realized why his heart ached so badly, that he suddenly found himself standing there once again in his human shape. His clothes were ragged from the storm and his legs stumbled for a second as he got used to standing on them again.

“Alice,” he whispered sadly.

“Who...what are you?” the new mother asked him. “Are you Silla?”

“I am not a god,” the man told her. “Merely a lost man whose name is long forgotten. I only know that I left behind a wife whom I must return to.”

“Yuka,” Toklo began again as he stepped inside. The bird was not there, merely the new parents, the baby, and bedraggled man he did not know.

“Who are you?” he demanded. “Where is Yuka? Have you killed him?”

“Toklo,” the new father said, stretching out a hand in the stranger’s direction, “meet Yuka.”

“That’s impossible,” Toklo said. There is no way …!”

A moment later, Yuka stood where the man had been. The remembered transformation came easily and naturally. Then he was a man once more.

Toklo stood there with his jaw open in amazement. “Were you cursed? Did some …”

“I believe I was born with this ability,” the man told him. “As for who I am, I have no idea. Only that I have a wife on another continent and that I must return to her somehow.”

“There is a ship that comes here once every three years,” Toklo told him. “It will be here this summer. I know it will be hard for you now that you know your past, but you are welcome to continue living with Tarkik and I until the ship arrives.”

  
  


Alice sat on the sofa of her Aunt Eve’s living room. Her two year old son, Svanlaug, sat playing with a set of blocks with letters and numbers engraved and painted on them. His twin sister, Kestrel, was playing with a little cornhusk doll which wore a little red dress with a pattern of tiny flowers. Both gifts had been birthday presents from their Great Aunt Eve.

“It’s a shame they’ll never know their father,” Alice said, sadly. She dabbed away a tear. “Imaginos was a wonderful husband. He would have been amazing with the children.”

Svanlaug stumbled to his feet and toddled over to Alice who knelt down and took him in her arms. Kestrel just sat there for a bit longer, then tried to stand, only to be defeated in her attempts with a cry of pain as she fell back down.

“It’s okay, baby,” Alice said, going over to her daughter and lifting her into her arms. “You’ll see. Everything is going to be fine.”

But she wasn’t sure if she believed it. With Imaginos gone, and their savings spent on the midwife and clothes she and the twins had no choice but to live with Eve. It was a good arrangement. But it had not always been so.

A few months after the birth of the twins, Alice’s parents had gone to visit Eve for Thanksgiving. It had been a surprise for Alice and not a pleasant one.

“What is she doing here?” Captain Gray demanded. “How dare you…”

“My niece is welcome in my home,” Eve told her brother. “And I expect you to respect that while you are here. Otherwise, I suggest you return home.”

It was at this point that Svanlaug came to see what all the commotion was about.

“That monster put another of your unnatural kind in your womb!” he shouted, slapping Alice. 

Eve stepped angrily between them. “Get out,” she said. “I will not have you abuse my niece in my house.”

“She’s a freak! The man who got her with child is a freak!” the man shouted.

“Don’t you dare call her that,” Eve demanded. 

“I’m sure her child is as unnatural as she and that beast she married,” the captain said, bitterly.

Anne looked confused and overjoyed when she arrived at the door a few minutes later. “Alice?” She dropped her suitcase and embraced her daughter. “Your father said you died. He said Imaginos killed you.”

“Imaginos has been nothing but kind to me,” Alice told her mother. “At least until …” she lowered her face.

“What happened?” Anne asked her daughter. She turned to her husband angrily. “And why did you tell me my daughter was dead?”

Alice took the form of Whiteswan for a moment, then changed back.”

“How dare you do that unnatural stuff in front of my family,” her father shouted, his face livid.

“What a beautiful swan,” Anne said. It was shocking, but she decided to play it off as something she was actually proud of, just to annoy her blustering husband. “Judging by your father’s rants, I suppose Imaginos can also change?”

“He could,” Alice said.

“Is he dead?” Anne asked, gently.

“I think so,” Alice said. “He went missing two years ago. He never saw his children. He knew I was pregnant. I suggested that he …. That …” she broke down. “It’s my fault. It’s my fault he died.”

Anne pulled her daughter into her arms.

“You did the right thing,” the captain told her. “Sending that monster away before he could kill the babies. Birds of prey should not be around children. They’re dangerous!”

“Shut up, father,” Alice said. “I take that back. You haven’t been my father since you threw me out.”

*****

A similar argument was happening two years later. The discovery that his granddaughter could not walk did nothing to make her grandfather relent in his endless tirade against his daughter and Imaginos.

“The death of that freak was the best thing that ever happened to you,” Captain Gray said, coldly, failing along with everyone else to spot the buzzard-hawk that had just reached the house.

  
  


The hawk flew high enough to remain out of sight, though he could see the arguing family down below. Deciding to sneak in another way, he flew into the back and in through the open patio door.

A little girl, two years old, was playing with her doll when the bird hopped close to her. It tilted its head in a quizzical manner, then left a moment later, returning with a little flower for the doll’s hair.

The child put the flower randomly into the doll’s hair while the hawk perched on the arm of the sofa.

“Aunty Evie says no feet on sofa,” the girl admonished.

“Wow,” the boy who joined them said a moment later. “What a cool bird.”

The hawk looked both proud and shocked. Twins?!

He could hold back no longer and changed into his human form.

“Magic!” the girl bounced happily. “Magic magic magic!”

Alice heard her and rushed into the living room.

“Imaginos!” she cried out, throwing her arms around her husband. “Oh thank God, you’re home!”

Imaginos held his wife as she covered him with kisses.

“I thought you had died!” Alice sobbed into his chest. “Why did you take so long to come home?”

Imaginos didn’t know what to say. How could he tell his wife that he’d forgotten her? Even if he said he’d had amnesia, he didn’t think she’d appreciate thinking she was not important enough to remember.

Alice stepped back and crouched down by their children.

“This is Svanlaug and this is Kestrel,” she introduced them. “Children, this is your father Imaginos.”

Kestrel looked up at her mother, her eyes bright as she held up her arms to be picked up while Svanlaug wandered into the living room to get away from all the yelling. He didn’t like it when his mommy got yelled at. It scared him.

“Can I be a bird like him?” Kestrel asked, pointing to Imaginos while Alice reached down to pick her up. 

“I don’t know, honey,” Alice said. She turned to Imaginos and explained, “Kestrel can’t walk. Her right leg was slightly twisted at birth, but nobody caught it until earlier this year. And by then it was too late to fix it.”

Imaginos held his arms out and took his daughter. “Maybe you’ll become a bird someday,” he told her.

“My granddaughter will not be a freak,” Captain Gray said as he stormed into the room followed by his wife and sister. “In fact, I won’t let her nor my grandson live with either of you. We’ll be taking them.”

“And what about your children? Where are they anyhow?” Imaginos asked. “I seem to remember you having two others besides Alice.”

“They’re at their grandmother’s house,” Anne said. “I thought it would be nice for them to see her. It’s been a while.”

“And it’s a good thing, too,” Captain Gray remarked. “Since they would have been contaminated if they saw you. Disgusting.”

Imaginos handed Kestrel to Alice and changed into Buzzardo. He gave an angry cry as he perched on a nearby half-wall, fanning his wings in a very threatening manner. 

“You wouldn’t dare!” Captain Gray said 

“He just might,” Eve told him.

“She’s right,” Anne agreed. “Come on. He’ll attack if he thinks you’re going to harm his family.”

Captain Gray grabbed an umbrella from the nearby stand and swung it at Buzzardo, who leapt up and flapped his wings in anger.

The cry of a child melted into the cry of a raptor as, frightened into instinct, Kestrel transformed into a small bird that seemed half hawk-hen and half-cygnet.She was covered in mostly down with a few feathers starting to grow in and had the shape of a hawk, though the few feathers that were present were the white feathers of a swan.

“Precious little darling,” her grandmother cooed, picking up the tiny hybrid.

“Put that thing down,” Captain Gray snapped. “And wash your hands. I’m not going to let you touch me or my food until you wash the freak off yourself.”

“Get out,” Eve said. “You will not stay another minute. I have allowed this to go on for too long. It’s one thing to insult an adult. We can argue or fight back. But I will not have you insult an innocent toddler. That is the lowest you can go. How dare you speak of her like that?”

“Come,” the captain said, glaring at his wife.

“She can stay,” Eve told him. “I’m only throwing you out.”

Buzzardo escorted Captain Gray to the door, snapping and screeching at him all the way down the hall.


	5. Chapter 5

As the sun went rose on Eve’s house at Christmas time four weeks later, a little bird flew into the living room and settled atop the tree, it’s long tail spreading downward along the conic shape. It picked up the star in its beak and moved it to a lower branch as if to say “this is my spot.”

Shortly afterward, the little boy who had recently lost his twin sister followed the bird into the living room and began looking at the wrapping paper on all the presents. There were so many. And some of them were for him. He wished his parents and great Aunt Eve would wake up so he could open them and see what he got. 

“Father! Mother!” he called as he rushed into their bedroom.

Imaginos sat up as Svanlaug climbed onto the bed and began jumping up and down.

“Christmas! Santa’s come! Come see! Come see!” he shouted.

“The elves said I can sleep in,” Imaginos groaned. The quilt was very cozy and he wasn’t keen on his feet meeting a cold floor.

Svanlaug looked at the bed and peered cautiously under it. “Where are the elfs?”

“They went back to the North Pole to get ready for next year,” Imaginos told his son. 

“Then they won’t know if you get up early,” Svanlaug began pulling on his father’s arm.

“Okay, okay, I’m up …” Imaginos said, giving in. “And wake your mom up, too. I’m sure she’ll want to see you open your presents.”

Svanlaug began pestering Alice while Imaginos went into the bathroom to get dressed. Once he was in his holiday clothes, he went into the living room and spotted Kestrel still adorning the tree like an empress on her throne.

“You’re looking festive this morning,” he told her. “That means pretty, by the way.” He put out some seed cake for her under the tree and held up a piece in his hand which she ate carefully.

Alice appeared a few minutes later with Svanlaug.

“Can we open presents now?” Svanlaug asked. “Please?”

“Not until Aunt Eve is up,” Alice said, causing Svanlaug to run to Eve’s room and return a few minutes later with his aunt in her robe and slippers. 

“Little fellow couldn’t even wait for me to get dressed,” Eve said in a cheerfully scolding tone. She looked at her niece and the rest of Alice’s family.

“Morning, Alice. Imaginos,” she said. She looked at the bird who was enjoying the seed cake. “Morning, Kessie.”

Svanlaug looked quizzically at her, trying to remember where he’d heard the name Kessie before. When he remembered, he began to cry. It had only been a month since his sister, whom his mother sometimes called Kes or Kessie, had gone to “Heffin”. Svanlaug had been told that this meant she was up in the air with Jesus and God and that she would always look after him.

Kessie hopped onto her brother’s shoulder. She didn’t know why he was sad since she hadn’t been there when Svanlaug had been told that she had passed away. 

The truth was that Imaginos and Alice had realized that Svanlaug could not turn into a bird, or anything at all for that matter. So the day after Imaginos had returned, they told him that his mother and Aunt Eve and he had been racing to the docks to meet his father who had just returned. There had been an accident and an angel had taken his sister away. And Kestrel, who was happier as a bird who could fly than she had ever been as a lame human being, never changed back again. 

Imaginos and Alice themselves vowed to each other in secret that they would never reveal their abilities to their son. They did not wish to hurt his feelings by doing tricks he couldn’t do.

“Oh, honey,” Eve said, as she patted the sofa invitingly. “Come sit between me and your mother.”

Svanlaug sat on the sofa while Imaginos brought him a present wrapped in green paper decorated with silver jingle bells and red holly. He opened it, morosely, but perked up when he saw the little wooden truck that his parents had given him.

Eve turned to Kessie next. “This is for you,” she said, presenting the little bird with a present that looked suspiciously like a perch. “I’m not keeping a tree in my house all year round.” 

Alice unwrapped the gift for the bird as it was too large for her to do on her own.

It was a tall perch with a ball and a mirror hanging at the top of Kessie to play with if she got bored. It had a pair of dishes attached to it for food and water.

Kessie made a happy little sound and fluttered over to the perch.

“That was very kind of you, Aunt Eve,” Alice said.

Imaginos went hunting after the presents had been opened, taking a bow and arrows into the woods for appearances’ sake. Once he was out of sight of his family, he would transform. He hunted as Buzzardo until he caught his prey. Then, when the animal had been subdued and killed, he would stab it once with an arrow to allay suspicion.

As it was Christmas Day, he spared the life of a deer that was licking snow off the branches of a nearby tree and instead killed a large hare and a rabbit and brought them home for the afternoon meal.


	6. Chapter 6

The sails of the charmed ship Plutonia were buffeted by gale force winds as Imaginos shouted orders to his crew. He thought of his family, which he had moved many years earlier to the coast of Cornwall. They had named their home Lost Christobel after a ship Imaginos had sailed on earlier in his career, before he’d been granted a captaincy. 

“Lower the royals and the moonsails!” he called out “Turn the courses leeward!”

The crew followed his orders without hesitation. He was a strict captain. He had to be. Lenient captains lost ships and crews, and he would not lose Plutonia nor the men who sailed her. His crew meant as much to him as his ship and his family.

His family. He had said goodbye to them at the port of Cornwall long ago. His teenage son had wanted to sail with him, but he had refused. This voyage was going to be too dangerous. It wasn’t a mere fishing trip. Not this time.

He thought back to the dream that had called out to him once again. A girl, about sixteen, had stood before a mirror looking into a world that was alien and strange. A man with dark red eyes looked back at her, his smile twisted and evil, but somehow familiar.

When they had reached the port, Imaginos kissed Alice and hugged their son Svanlaug, patting the hybrid bird on his shoulder, their secret daughter Kestrel. 

“Keep your mother safe,” he told his son. “You’re the man of the house until my return.”

“I will, father,” Svanlaug promised. “Please don’t be gone too long.”

“Come back safe and quick,” Alice pleaded. “I don’t want to be without you too long.”

“I promise I will return when my quest is done,” Imaginos had vowed, kissing her one last time.

It had been a long time. He was sure years had passed, but wasn’t sure how many. All he knew was that there was a treasure drawing him ever closer. One that he had to retrieve. Somewhere far away. It grabbed at his soul, more than anything. Voices beckoning him ever onward to some unknown destiny.

And now a storm was raging. One that came unexpectedly and without mercy. Plutonia’s sails were lowered as instructed, but even this did little to stop the wind’s pull on the tall ship. The ship listed hard, taking on water, as the mizzen mast splintered and the sky sail of the main mast was torn by the upper pieces as the swayed to and fro before crashing into the sea below.

A wave hit, stronger than any other, sending Imaginos and several others into the sea. Imaginos reached for one of the pieces of floating debris only to have it pulled away by two of his men. He sank into the depths, coughing out his last breaths. The darkness hit, and he should have died at that moment.

But then, somewhere in the deep depths, an impossible hand touched his shoulder. 

“Imaginos,” a voice new and old said to him. “I was there when you were younger than born. I know your destiny and it is not to die at the hands of faithless friends.”

“Who are you?” Imaginos asked in his mind. He had drowned, hadn’t he? 

“We met once on a train,” the voice said. “Then you knew me as Rigellis. I won’t tell you my true name. It cannot be spoken in any human language. But I will tell you yours.”

“My name is Imaginos,” Imaginos thought.

“That is the name of your dying self,” the voice told him. “Keep to that name and die now, or embrace your true self and live forever. Which shall it be?”

“Tell me who I am,” Imaginos said. He would not die. Not when he could live and keep the promise to his family that he would return one day.

The voice spoke the name softly. 

“Desdinova.”


End file.
